Paul Klee at Pompidou Center until august 1st : A genius ! It’s the easiest way to sum up this unclassifiable artist, creator of 10 000 artworks ! He never belonged blindly to a mouvement, and always called into question the greatest modernist trends, from cubism, dadaism, surrealism, constructivism and abstraction, through the lens of irony, the best way to remain himself. His great sens of composition and his fabulous taste for colours, textures and materials made him an outstanding artist in the art history of XX th century. Run to see this exhibition where 60 % of the works displayed are shown for the first time in France ! I could speak during hours about this show that is so unique and will make you feel good after visiting it, despite a political context at the end of his life which was tragic.

Picasso-sculptures in Picasso museum until august 28th : another genius, at ease in many artistic disciplines, including sculpture ! The great idea of this exhibition is to show the total mastery of this medium by the spanish master, from the very beginning to the end in the 70 ‘s, from tiny to monumental, from naturalistic to almost abstract, from wood to stone and metal… Don’t come to find paintings- actually you have just one floor in the museum devoted to this medium- but that’s gigantic and really worth seeing ! Without forgetting the exhibition of amazing ceramic works, paintings and works on paper from 1990 to today by famous spanish artist Miquel Barcelo, until september 30th.

Douanier Rousseau in Orsay museum until july 17th : yes painting is like poetry sometimes and we have a good example with this wonderful exhibition that you cross like a dream. It’s also a clever and new approach with parallel drawn with many art references.

Guillaume Apollinaire, the gaze of a poet, in Orangerie Museum until july 18th : the famous french poet who was the friend of avant-garde-artist like Picasso and lover of Marie Laurencin, was also an important art critic and theorist. He defended cubism, forged the label “Orphism” for Delaunay ‘s colorful art, wrote probably himself the manifesto of futurism, and introduced Paul Guillaume in parisian artistic circles, just to quote few artistic achievements on his short-but prolific-career ! If you like and want to explore the relationships between art and poetry at the beginning of the XXth century , this exhibition is definitely for you.

Between sculpture and photography, at Rodin museum july 17th : with works by John Chamberlain (1927-2011), Cy Twombly (1928-2011), Dieter Appelt (born 1935), Markus Raetz (born 1941), Mac Adams (born 1943), Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978), Richard Long (born 1945), Giuseppe Penone (born 1947). These artists have in common the use of both medium : photography and sculpture in their practice, but the approach and results are all different. An interesting angle of view to discover in this pleasant exhibition.

I met Thierry 16 years ago , he was designing and making himself, all by hand, wedding dresses and stage costumes ! It was such an incredible work, I found him very gifted and I immediatly noticed his unique style : inspired by past but very contemporary, trendy without being a fashion victime, refusing the dictatorship of brands and magazines.

When I asked him recently where his taste for style– even more than fashion- came from, he remembered since he was a very young boy he was both attracted by ancient portraits showing elegant and stylish people, as well as History. In the meantime he developed a skill for manual work, and loved to customize outfits. Still today he’s able to transform a basic anonymous jacket into a must have for a fashion dressing !

You will be surprised to discover his favorite motto : I hate shopping ! And that’s right, he doesn’t like to spend – he would say waste– time in shops, he definitly prefers to explore museums, exhibitions, and also jumble sales in Paris flourishing in spring, true treasure chest sometimes ! He always finds the perfect scarf, the right accessory for him and even what he calls learning tool for his students, i.e old outfits in perfect shape from 19th or early 20th century as this gorgeous late 19th century beaded bodice (see pic below showing the backside) to illustrate his courses on fashion history he’s giving in renowned schools like Instituto Marangoni, Marist College, Paris College or Art…

Thierry was first graduate in art history then he decided to transform his passion into knowledge he would transmit through lectures and courses and now he’s very successful ! His students (european, american, french) are very fond of his lectures and like to follow him in parisian museums to observe the evolution of fashion in front of art works like in Carnavalet museum which is is the museum of the history of Paris, located in le Marais area, and the ideal place, according to Thierry, to understand parisian style and renowned elegance, through portraits and urban scenes !

Of course the reopening of Galliera museum offers also a great opportunity to study costumes with outstanding temporary exhibitions devoted to a specific fashion designer or major fashion collections, like the show on display now devoted to Greffulhe countess dressing (she inspired Marcel Proust for his memorable character Guermantes Duchess in famous novel A la recherche du Temps perdu), without forgetting the museum of Fashion and Decorative Art, on Rivoli street, located in the Louvre building, another fabulous place to see splendid exhibitions about costumes and designers.

And to round off this first parisian portrait, you can see on this pic below, showing a tea time in his own apartment, Thierry is also gifted to create a cosy and refined interior atmosphere in company of selected Dandies 😉

Last week we went to Bruges 2 days. That was our 4th stay there but I never had the time to write about it and we enjoyed it so much I thought I should do something about the Venice-of-the-north as people nicknamed it. This city is enchanting, filled with infinite charm that’s why I recommend a hotel the same level : Tuilerieen Hotel, a 4 star charm- hotel , very well located , facing a canal and not far from the historical Grand Place (Great square). We had such a lovely and romantic bed chamber , very cosy, overlooking the canal, offering a great view on mediaeval architecture, with an amazing atmosphere by night :

The Spa was just refurbished and we enjoyed the pool after a cold day outside :

We loved so much the buffet-breakfast with its chocolate fountain 😉

As this is our 4th stay we are used to do a kind of pilgrimage to see the only sculpture by Michel-Angelo in Belgium : it’s the Madonna of Our-Lady church (Notre-Dame), early 16th century, which left Italy from the lifetime of the artist, acquired by wealthy fabric merchants.

We like to stroll in the rooms of Groeningemuseum to admire the splendid flemish primitive artists like Memling or Van Eyck who challenged the imitation of reality with amazing minute details that the use of oil painting allowed.

We always have a lot of fun to rediscover the impressive and extravagant details of Hieronymus Bosch’s Last Judgment :

Bruges is not only a city turned towards the past, you have also contemporary artists exhibited in museums like this month ,and until february 21st, Robert De Vriendt‘s fabulous hyper realist small scale paintings evoking fragmented pieces of tv drama -or web voyeurism- with very seductive colors and appealing manner.

detail of The wood of Love and horror- oil/ canvas- 2011

Food is also an arty contemporary topic today sometimes ! You won’ t be disappointed in Bruges then, from top gastronomic to friendly neo-bistrot or cosy traditional flemish style restaurants, you’ll find what will fit your taste bud and eyes. Here is my top list :

2. Poule-Moule : among the best mussels in Bruges, very friendly place, simple and rustic decor

3. Breydel de Conync : The best lobster ! Mussels are very good too. Friendly atmosphere.

4. Lizzie waffles : Simply The best waffles in town !

5. Marcolini chocolates : My favorite high-end chocolate maker ever in Belgium (and also in Paris, in my top 5) !! The best quality , don’t hesitate on more second 😉

Bonus : Aux Merveilleux. Would you like to experience Heaven under you palate ? A miracle of vaporous cream and aerial meringue, this little dome of pleasure is called Merveilleux, with french/ flemish origins… My favorite is the white one called Incroyable (Uncredible !), tribute to french youngsters who after the Revolution, as a sign of reaction against dark Terror period, used to parade around Palais Royal area. They wanted to introduce extravagant taste in fashion and original lifestyle, they were nicknamed Incroyables et Merveilleuses and refused to pronounced r letters !

The Boutique is a fairy tale !

Bruges is the perfect trip for lovers, so why not going there for february 14th, Valentine’s day ?! But prepare well your stay as the city is small, the hotels and restaurants will be quickly full booked.

Catchy and seductive, playful and dynamic, Derrick Adam’s works made of a knowledgeable technique of collage and strong sens of eurythmy and construction inherited from art history, talk also about a serious subject : the question of afro-american identity and its presentations, especially in media.

pic 1- from LiVE and IN COLOR series , 2015 / pic 2 from Gray Area series, 2015

Either facing us or back turned, the model won’t reveal her face, nevertheless we recognize the wife of Manet in white on left (original at Orsay museum). I’m a fan of the oil/ cardboards series After the masters in small scale. His style is synthetic and allusive without being rigid or stiff. Thanks to his mastery of medium he achieves to render beauty and sensuality.

A powerful neon light installation covering the whole wall with the demand Remember me by different handwritings welcome the visitor in the first room on ground level, while downstairs two movies, projected on double side screen, talks about life and death. “I want to put the public in a situation where everyone becomes acutely sensitive to themselves, to their body and respiration,” says Steve McQueen.